Verne is generally considered a major literary author in France and most of Europe, where he has had a wide influence on the literaryavant-garde and on surrealism. His reputation is markedly different in Anglophone regions, where he has often been labeled a writer ofgenre fiction or children’s books, not least because of the highly abridged and altered translations in which his novels are often reprinted.

Verne is the second most translated author in the world (following Agatha Christie),[1] and his works appear in more translations per year than those of any other writer.[2] Verne is one writer sometimes called “The Father of Science Fiction,” as are H. G. Wells andHugo Gernsback.[3][a]